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Welcome to Morris & Sova – Barristers and Solicitors

Morris & Sova is an association of independent legal practices.We are two lawyers, Lenore Morris and Kimberly Sova, plus legal assistant and real estate conveyancer, Joanne Oberg. We strive to be approachable, informative and helpful, whether you are already facing a difficult situation, or hoping to avoid it with well-considered, researched legal advice. Our offices are located in downtown Whitehorse, but we welcome clients from all Yukon communities. We invite you to call us, or to send us a note at info@morris-sova.com. We’ll let you know if we can help you, and if we can’t, we will try to point you in the right direction. One caution: if you are contacting us by email or leaving a voicemail, please keep your inquiry general. Do not give us confidential information until we have run a conflict check and asked you to provide details.

About us

Lenore Morris

Lenore Morris is the Morris in Morris & Sova. She has a general legal practice which includes residential real estate, family matters, wills, probate of estates, construction and contract law. Lenore has a Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Trent University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Montana. She was called to the Yukon and British Columbia bars in 2001. Before opening her own practice in 2006, Lenore worked for four years at the Yukon Government Department of Justice. Prior to that Lenore was an associate with the Whitehorse law firm of Preston Lackowicz & Shier (now Lackowicz & Hoffman). Originally from Toronto, Lenore first moved north in 1979 to Dawson City. She left the following year to pursue her education, then after many years of part-time northern living, returned to the Yukon full-time in January 2000. Lenore is an active outdoorswoman who enjoys mountain biking, hiking, canoeing and skiing.

Professional Activities/Memberships

– Member – Law Society of Yukon
– Member – Law Society of Yukon Rules Committee

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Kimberley Sova

Kimberly Sova is the Sova in Morris & Sova. She has a general legal practice which includes corporate, commercial and contract law, wills and administrative law. Prior to opening her practice, Kimberly worked for two years with the Yukon Government Department of Justice. While there the focus of her work was litigation. She made numerous appearances in both Supreme and Territorial Courts. Kimberly is a Yukon girl, born and raised. She has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toronto as well as a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Manitoba. She was called to the Yukon and British Columbia bars in 2006.

Professional Activities/Memberships

– Member – Law Society of Yukon
– Member – Law Society of Yukon Executive

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Joanne Oberg

Joanne Oberg joined Morris & Sova in September 2009 after a long career in the public service. Here she adapted and put to use her extensive skill set and experience. Joanne has made herself an indispensible member of the team and now Lenore and Kim don’t know how they ever practiced without her. Joanne is usually the first person you will see when you come to our office. If you are buying or selling a home or remortgaging, Joanne, as our real estate conveyancer, is the person you will deal with the most. Joanne grew up in Toronto. In 1975, she turned an adventure travelling through Alaska, Yukon and NWT into a ‘brief’ stay in Whitehorse, where she has made her home ever since.

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Services

We have a general practice which is currently concentrated in the following areas:

Real estate conveyancing

We can help you to buy or sell your home, re-finance or subdivide property. For more information, view our real estate section.

Family law

We can assist you in a divorce or separation, to obtain or respond to a claim for child support or spousal support, with the division of family property, and with other matters arising from separation or divorce. To keep you secure in the future, we prepare separation agreements, prenuptial agreements and cohabitation agreements.

Civil litigation

We can represent you in Supreme Court or Small Claims Court proceedings. We represent either plaintiffs or defendants in most types of civil lawsuits.

Corporate/commercial

We can draft or review contracts, security agreements, help you to incorporate a company, and provide general services and advice.

Wills and estates

We prepare Wills and Power of Attorneys. We also provide assistance with probate and administration of estates.
If you want us to prepare a Will for you, we will ask you to complete a Will Questionnaire and/or an Enduring Power of Attorney Questionnaire and schedule. an appointment.

We charge $400.00 plus GST to prepare a Will of typical complexity*. If you ask us to prepare two “mirror” Wills for you and your spouse/partner, we will charge $600.00 plus GST for both. Our fees include obtaining your instructions, drafting and editing your Will(s), meeting with you to sign the Wills, executing Affidavits of Witness and reporting to you.

* We will tell you at the time you return your Questionnaire whether your instructions are for a Will of more than typical complexity. The large majority of Wills fall within the range of what we call “typical complexity”.

Administrative law

We can represent you in a proceeding before an administrative tribunal or board, or advise you on how best to represent yourself.

Other

If you need assistance in an area not listed here, please contact us and we will tell you whether that is something we can help with – and try to point you in the right direction if we can’t.

Costs

Morris & Sova aims to provide high quality, accessible and affordable legal services for individuals and small businesses. We also believe it is important that clients know at the earliest stage possible what those services will cost. When you consult one of us, if we don’t raise the matter of fees first – please ask us!

We charge a “fixed fee” for certain types of legal services, including the majority of real estate transactions and will preparation. For other types of services, typically where it is more difficult for us to estimate the amount of time that will be required to meet your needs, we charge on an hourly basis for our time. Lenore Morris charges $300/hour or as otherwise agreed upon for her services, Kimberly Sova charges $225/hour for her services. All litigation services (if we are acting for you when you are suing or being sued) are billed on an hourly basis.

GST is added to all fees.

Real estate

Real estate costs

The fee schedule set out below is applied in the majority of residential real estate transactions. However, if unusual complications arise in the course of your transaction, we reserve the right to increase our fee accordingly. We will also reduce our fee in transactions which are simpler than is typical. Usually, the same fees apply whether your home is a house, mobile home or condominium.

– Home purchase with mortgage: $1,300
– Home purchase without mortgage: $800
– New construction home purchase with mortgage: $1,400
– New construction home purchase without mortgage: $900
– Mobile home purchase with mortgage: $1,500
– Mobile home purchase without mortgage: $800
– Remortgage of house or condo: $600
– Remortgage of mobile home: $800
– Construction mortgage: $750
– Home sale: $700

In addition to the above fees, all expenses which our office incurs in the course of a real estate transaction are billed to the client. These include Land Titles Office registration fees, fees paid to municipal authorities for property tax statements and construction permit records, title insurance, surveys, appraisals and search fees.

Please note that for home purchases and sales, in certain circumstances we will increase our fee to reflect the additional time required. Those circumstances include when the other party to the transaction is not using a lawyer, when it is a private sale (i.e. where no realtor is assisting), or when the Contract of Purchase and Sale requires the vendor to perform work prior to closing. For mortgages, whether associated with a purchase or as a refinance, we may charge more if you are borrowing through a bank that does not have a branch in Whitehorse (banks with branches in Whitehorse are Scotiabank, CIBC, BMO, TD Bank and RBC). Please speak to us about your fees if any of these circumstances apply to your purchase, sale or refinance.

Legal resources

Links

Yukon Courts
This is the official website for all Yukon Courts (Small Claim Court, Territorial Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal) and has links to the various Rules of Court, forms, decisions and other useful information about going to Court.

CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute)This is a free database of Canadian court and tribunal decisions, legislation and legal commentary. It is available in English and French and includes Yukon case law and legislation.

Corporate Affairs, Government of Yukon Frequently Asked QuestionsThis page of the Corporate Affairs website provides answers to frequently asked questions about businesses, non-profit organizations, personal property security, and securities (stocks, etc). You can also link to other Corporate Affairs pages that has more detailed information on incorporation, societies and access to on-line forms.

Yukon LegislationThis Yukon Government website provides current versions of all Yukon Act and Regulations.

Incorporation

The incorporation of a small, one or two shareholder corporation in the Yukon is fairly simple and can be done without the assistance of a lawyer. Forms and information on how to incorporate are available from Corporate Affairs. Generally, the staff there are very helpful. Morris & Sova is also happy to assist you with this process of course.

If you are incorporating, it is important that you understand the powers and obligations of corporations, shareholders, directors and officers. Business corporations are governed by the Business Corporations Act.

Contact us

Our office is located at 4133 Fourth Avenue, Suite 201. This is on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Wood Street, in a grey building with red awnings. Entrance is from Wood Street.